The Main Library on Vienna’s inner-city ring road, the Gürtel, was built in line with structural principles completely new in Austria’s library landscape, a concept known as the “fractal library". The so-called college model, consisting of six spatially separate departmental areas, forms the core of the Main Library. The six college teams are independently responsible for the administration of their respective areas in terms of inventory development and maintenance as well as customer information.

The Vienna main library, the radio chips store information such as copy number, author, library code, location in the library, systematic group, last individual who checked out the book, status as well as completeness information for media packages.

One of the most fascinating facets of the new Main Library of the City Libraries is the view through its vast glass facades - Kahlenberg, Leopoldsberg and large parts of the Vienna Woods seem close enough to touch. Spacious library rooms with Internet and audio stations, reading nooks and a café are conducive to reading and reflecting.

Directly above the underground station Burggasse-Stadthalle one finds the new library, opened in 2003 and created by architect Ernst Mayr. A supporting structure spanning three stories makes the building look as if it were suspended above the tracks of the old Otto Wagner station pavilions. It is located directly between the two lanes of the Vienna “Gürtel," one of the busiest roads of the city.

The generous open staircase of the library connects to the roof of Urban-Loritz square, which was renovated a few years ago – it conveys a cosmopolitan feeling and signals free access to the knowledge stored in the library. The cafés in the glass rotunda represent casual and communicative urbanity. The library, 150 meters long and 26 meters wide, offers a usable area of 6,000 square meters and provides access to 240,000 pieces of print as well as to 60,000 electronic media items.

Libraries in Vienna are a customer-oriented service organization with a vast range of up-to-date quality media to choose from plus specific advisory services for all their users. The libraries were established by the City of Vienna as a major source of information and education and to promote cultural and leisure time activities. They are part of a worldwide network of libraries.

With its new Main Library the City of Vienna participates in the international boom in library construction by promoting a trend-setting project. Choosing a huge circular traffic artery of Vienna as location for a new main library, Vienna has set specific standards and requirements for both architecture and city planning. Director Mr. Alfred Pfoser introduces the architectural ideas of the building and its organisation. He describes the concerns and implications of placing a new main library in an area of tension, which has become the special object of town planning and redevelopment.


Its pleasing design, long opening hours, reading areas and work stations for the different media will make you want to stay a while. Take a break from the books and enjoy splendid views of Vienna from the café on the roof.